Hello Chris
????
Was I illegal riding in Japan?
At Osaka Customs they proceded my CDP and I never got stoped by the police.
So then my insurance was probably a waste of money as they might not have paid in an accident.
Well now I'm in Russia and I'm missing Japan so much.
The difference couldn't be bigger.
From Paradise to ehm....Russia.
My advice to others:
Go Russia to Japan -> never Japan to Russia.
sushi

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My RTW:
http://www.youtube.com/user/MrXt660ztenere

With luck, we should be shipping two bikes from China to Japan in about 4 weeks. With a lot of luck that is... as all freight options out of Tianjin seem to be falling over. I am not entirely happy with our tour company at present, but that could change depending on the outcome.

In any case, if we do get to Japan, I gather there should not be too much of an issue entering Japan with Australian registered bikes, both with CDP. At least that is the way I read the last few posts.

If anyone has heard differently, I would be very pleased to know.
Cheers,
Ro

Should be no problem at all if you have a CDP.
You do have to go to the Japan Automobile Federation (JAF) first to have them 'authenticate' the carnet. So try to choose an entry port in a major city (Fukuoka, Osaka, Yokohama, Tokyo) where there is a JAF office.
A bit of a bother, but they do usually give you copies of the applicable laws in Japanese that you can show to customs/cops if you run into problems.
See my signature below for more info, and let us know your experience when you do get here!

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Japan touring information

Thanks for the information Chris, it is very helpful, as is your website.
We will try to enter via Kobe as I have friends there.
I will let you know how we go.

Wish us luck getting out of China!

Cheers,
Rowan

It has been quite a process but we managed to get from Melbourne, across Indonesia to mainland SE Asia and across, across China, get the bikes shipped to Japan and get on the road in Japan.

This last bit was not without its hassles though...

First, the ferry to Korea that we had planned on using had stopped running.
Secondly, our tour operator (or Chinese bureaucracy - not sure who was telling the full story) would not let us change our itinerary to use a vehicle ferry closer to Shanghai. (a good suggestion by Seoul Joe)
Thirdly, we were able to get the bikes into a container to Japan but it was slow and costly but, in the end, the only option.
Fourthly, customs in Japan were fantastic, but the receiving freight company caused delays and were inflexible, adding to our time and costs.
Now, we are in the throes of leaving Japan after a shorter than anticipated, but nonetheless wonderful, stay.

Overall, the trip was fantastic and definitely worth doing.
The freight hassles, however, were a pain in the butt!

Even the horizons unlimited stickers we put on the bikes lasted the distance.

Cheers,
Row1

facebook.com/latrobe.2wheels

Thanks for posting Row1.

I'm curious, did you have a Carnet?

I came into japan yesterday from Sakhalin. I did NOT have my carnett. There was an agent from a transport company waiting for me who had the C5014 form filled out for me, Insurance and registration for the bike. I'll do a full write up soon.

Yes, you were illegal. The insurance was not a waste, as most police officers
do not know much about international treaties. If you had had an accident,
it is most likely that the insurance would have paid out. As they themselves
do not know what vehicles are illegal. The only exception, might be in large
cities, or where someone was killed. Then there is a much higher chance of
then checking. I went into a prefectural police station and asked about Swiss
and German vehicles. They did not know and did not want to have to go look
up the answer.

So, we succesfully went through Japan using C5014 and shipping out of Kawasaki port! No Carnet needed at all!
We came in using DBS ferry with the car in Sakaiminato. That is how you can get C5014 Temporary Import declaration.

We and the car have not left Japan yet, but yesterday we did the customs and the car has been exported. That means the C5014 Temporary Import has been ended (still on the same form). And without paying any import tax!

With our car from the Netherlands we were driving legally in Japan, as far as I know. We never got stopped by police, but yeah we were driving a Toyota Hiace so we blend in haha. But there have been many police who noticed us and either did not make a problem out of it or maybe did not know what to do with it.
The customs where all laughing when they heard we were driving two months in Japan with our own Dutch license plate. Laughing hard as in they were thinking it should not be that way.
I think you could actually register your car with Ministery of Land transportation and get Japanese license plates. But why do that? Why make it difficult? And you would need to end that as well when exporting.

I emailed before with customs and got good replies in perfect English. At some point I mentioned on which date in which office I was going to be. They prepared everything for me, which was really nice. I think it costs a lot of time for everybody.
And for them it was also the first time to handle the ending of C5014, also by a tourist himself.

However, there are no shipping companies who are familiar with C5014 at all. This means they dont want to help you or will simply not reply.
That is why I insisted on doing customs myself.

But I think it will not work so fluently when you show up at a customs office with your C5014 form and wanting to export. I think it will go down poorly or at least cost a lot of time.
So start emailing some time before you come. Email addresses are on Japenese customs site for each district.

And yes in Sakaiminato just say you will ship out of Sakaiminato again. That will keep them happy. And in the end they just said if I were to ship out via other port without me, I just needed to pay import tax at that moment. Which was not true in the end.
Actually, import tax on a car that is not worth that much is not so much. So if your car is 5000 euro and you pay only 300 euro import tax, then that is also a viable option for those who cannot use C5014 or Carnet du Passage. Maybe the tax is lower on an older car.
And if it is a Japenese car you are bringing in, chances are that the value in Japan is much lower than you think. So this would save om thr import tax.
Anyhow, we did not have to pay anything at all. Only insurance which we did via DBS ferry contact.

Hi People,
i have read the thread about the pro's and con's of moving your car to Japan and i would just like to get peoples opinions about the different options discussed, as i am really trying to live in my Van well nissan elgrand, whilst traveling around Japan with my partner. But obviously we will not have a physical address.
Is it possible to get insurance, tax, vehicle registration, or and a temporary 1 year CDP without an address?

We would really like to know what you think about this idea?

Thankyou and i hope to talk with you soon.

If you have a 1 year visa for Japan, you will have to register as a resident someplace, whether or not you actually live there. You will then have a legal address where you can register your vehicle.
Whether you can get a CDP without an address is something you need to take up with the issuer in your home country.
Personally, if I were going to be in Japan a whole year, I would just by a used vehicle here and sell when I go home. It will be a lot cheaper than bringing one all the way to Japan.